Deep Cleaning...what works for you?

[Scraps]

My BWS died around 50 games and was recently demoted to a dry lane ball. I would love to bring back the original reaction. I was much happier with my Hammer than my recent Attitude Shift.

I tried the dish washer cleaning but it did not seem to help very much. I've noticed a few posts where some folks mention the ball wash or deep cleaning process. I'm looking for any suggestions on what to try next to get the oil out of the ball.

Thanks in advance!

[Daorge]

http://forums.hammerbowling.com/showthread.php?t=4200

Read that post, try the bath method, it seems to work for most people.

[Scraps]

Thanks...will do!

[Crusher279757]

The bath method is good. Works really well.

[Young300]

I like either the bath or just using a deep cleaning cleaner at a friend's place and working the oil out. Also, using that Ebonite Hook Again stuff is amazing. That is something new that I never tried and I can see how kitty litter would actually work the same way.

[JoshWithrow]

Dishwasher :D

Just remember to turn HEATED DRY OFF

[TenPinSniper]

Scraps what does the surface of your bowling ball look like? Maybe it just needs to be resurfaced or retouched.

Also, here is a quick check to see if you have any oil left in the ball, place it in Hot Water, if you have oil on top of the water, proceed wuth a hot water bath.

Then go to your local proshop and purchase some good cleaner.

[pba6285]

Here is what I do.

1. Make my first cut on my Cook Sphere machine usually at 180 grit.

2. put ball in Hook again Chamber.

3 Place compound in a COVERED microwave safe cup. If you don't cover the container the compound will get all over the microwave. Microwave on High for 2 min.

4. Place compound in chamber and let sit. Ebonite recommends 24 hrs. I will let mine go for a week.

5. Complete the resurface job to the desired surface finish.

[Scraps]

Wow...thanks for the FAST responses...awesome feedback!

The surface of my BWS is pretty decent. The house I bowl on has newer synthetic overlays and is kept in top notch condition. The ball has around 65 games on it and only in the past 15 games have I tried to maintain it. I must admit, I did not clean it regularly when it was new. I do wipe the ball after every shot but I would go weeks between cleanings. The ball was working so well, I did not feel compelled to change anything. In retrospect, I would've cleaned it weekly immediately after league play.

I tried the dishwasher trick with a small amount of dawn and the heat dry off. It was hard to tell if any oil came out. It did bring it back a little bit but not as much as when it was when it was newer. I have also taken it down to 2k Abralon which was decent, just more mid-lane reaction later in the evening than I would like.

This all might be moot. Yesterday prior to league I hit it with a fresh 4k Abralon. During warmups, my Attitude Shift (less than 10 games) would not carry after 3 different shots using 3 separate paths to the pocket. I picked up the BWS moved right a few boards and she carried nicely. I strung out the front 8, wobbling the 10 pin for #9, carried 10, 11, & a solid 10 on #12 for a 278. I ended up shooting 701 on the night all with the BWS, moving left opening up the lane as the shot broke down.

Thank you again for the input...I will definitely do the bath in the bucket trick. I'm not too sure about the Ebonite Hook Again treatment...if it gets that bad I might just buy another BWS. You know, keep the local pro shop in business! ;)

Now to get rid of the Attitude & replace it with another Hammer ball. That's for a different post. :D

[blistershurt]

Good shooting.

I shot my 701 with my Widow too! What a coincidince...haha...

Mine is dying, I got like 500 games on it, multiple resurfaces, and clean it all the time. I'm trying to decide what to replace it with, I made a new post on it

[Colorado Crusher]

I dont want to be a person that puts out wrong information so i would not say that i would do this but it was a little slow at work today so i decided to bring my bowling balls in and clean them my black widow hasent been as good out of the box for a while but i just adjusted and didnt worry about it well today i decided to deep clean mine so i got out a bucket of hot water and dish soap and let it soak for a while and man did it look nice the water was full of oil film and the ball was slyme when i pulled it out well i got to thinking and we have these big industrial lights that we use so i sat a couple over the ball and man did that thing sweat ive heard this was a bad idea but i also heard that it wouldnt hurt it as long as you can control the temperature you would be ok.So what im trying to say is you could try this method on an old ball and see if it works then maybe do it to your black widow and see if it brings it back to life just my opinion


Thanks Josh

[Dado]

as far as bathing the ball, im all for it and i do it often. but has anyone ever noticed that the first few shots after the bath the ball doesnt have a big reaction, but will quickly get back to normal after a game or so? or is this just me? even though the ball feels stickier after the bath...

also, should i use energizer after the bath or not?

[VmsTopGun]

all of our work just fine after the bath, Are you certain that your getting all the soap out??

Only the fist bath do i use soap and scrubb it with a brush. after that its pure water...

[JoshWithrow]

all of our work just fine after the bath, Are you certain that your getting all the soap out??

Only the fist bath do i use soap and scrubb it with a brush. after that its pure water...

That's the way I was doing mine when I first started with the baths. I would hit it w/ some green brillo (no pressure, just a quick swipe swipe all the way around the ball, especially the track area), then scrub it up in soap, and wash all the soap off in the bucket with a soft brush, the start in on the soaking baths. The soap was for all the caked on surface stuff. The soak is for the deep down oil release.

Since then I've migrated to the dishwasher for a few reasons. 1) It's easier (more efficient use of my time) to let the dishwasher do all the hard work. 2) The temerature is more constant... the dishwasher doesn't "cool down" like the water does. 3) The ball sits in the hot environment for a longer period of time. And 4) the pressure knocks the oil off the surface as it comes out, you don't have to keep wipe wipe wiping it.

But I'm glad all this is working for everybody. No matter what method you use, it's better than only hitting it with surface cleaner after every set, and you're bound to get a longer life out of your oil sponge, er, ball.

[TenPinSniper]

Personally I have used Hook Again on a few of my Hammers, after a season of use... if I still plan on using the ball it get a treatment in the chamber, either that or right before a tournament... a couple week to get a handle on the reaction. Some of these balls are not around forever, so if you plan on using them you have to maintain them. Don't think one ball is going to make or break the proshop, especially if they get some of the money to maintain the ball.

[Scraps]

I did try the dishwasher...funny story. My buddy told me use a few drops of dawn. Well my wife has the ultra concentrated blue Dawn and I used more than a few drops. I also had the high temp wash turned on which used hot water for the wash and rinse cycles...NO HEAT DRY. Well the suds were crazy...they started coming out the front of the machine. I stacked towels all around the front to control the mess.

I guess I got some reaction back afterall I the ball was really moving nicely on Wed night. The bucket method will actually show results...the dishwasher, while it probably does just as good, does not give you the opportunity to see the oil coming out of the ball.

500 games...wow, I would say you got your money's worth. I have an original Black Chaos ball that probably has around 350 games on it. My all time favorite ball...just too heavy these days, it's 16lbs. That TEC particle coverstock still hooks like the day it was new.

[Scraps]

I've done the bucket method of deep cleaning on a friend's BWS with over 75 games on it. I was amazed at how much oil came out of the ball. The ball is due for a resurfacing so I hit it with 360 Abralon first. I then used hot water with a few drops of Dawn in a 5 gallon bucket. The ball sat for about 30 minutes and quite a bit of oil came out. It's in for a second cycle right now. I recommend this technique to anyone looking to get some lost reaction back.

[don805]

Ok so how interesting is this forum?? Everyone has an opinion on this matter, each slightly different. I always like hearing what people are willing to try to rejuvenate their equipment. So one day I tried it. The bucket thing did work for me, but I thought it could have been done better. So a friend & I hypothesized on all the different ideas we have heard, looking at each idea's pros and cons. And we came up with something, experimented, and I like it. Therefore, I want to share with all of you. If anyone tries it for themselves, let me know how it works for you.

To qualify myself, I am 3rd generation bowling alley owner, small 6 lane center. Small pro-shop, which means I don't have the ability to purchase the expensive resurfacing machines. I do have a spinner, which is the best way to finish any bowling ball without a resurfacing machine. Here's my new "bath" method:

I use a propane camping stove, cook pot, cereamic ashtray, digital cooking themometer with alarm, and some patience. First I place the ashtray in the bottom of the cook pot, put ball in ashtray. (the ceramic ashtray is simply what I had on hand to set the ball on so that it does not sit on the bottom of the pan, potentially burning the ball) I cover the ball with water, light the stove, and put the thermometer in the water and cover with lid. I set the alarm for 205 degrees. Then I wait. And wait. As soon as the alarm sounds at 205, I turn the stove off and take the lid off. I allow the ball to cool naturally in the water until it reaches about 140-150. I pour out the water and immediatly put ball on spinner to wipe the excess oil off of the ball. And there is PLENTY of oil on the ball when it comes out of the water, so much that I sometimes have a difficult time picking the ball up. I then let the ball set as long as it takes to get it to room temperature. Depending on the suface to begin with you may have to hit the surface with an abrolon pad and/or some polish to finish it off. Also, this sometimes does not go well with your finger grips, so you may need to put some new ones in.

I have done this over a dozen times, and so far, only great results. I did this with the ONE, hit it with a 4000 grit pad and some factory finish and BAM, 753, first time out. Felt like it was out of the box. I hope this works well for you. Let me know.

[Rowdy]

As soon as you send all of us a propane stove,cooking pot and thermometer,(Already have ashtray,send it to others) and ball spinner,we'll put it to the test.:) The bucket and hot water is for guys who don't have a ton of coin to spend or who live a gazillion miles from a Pro Shop they can trust.
Hook Again is by far the best thing to get oil out of a ball.:D Tough to argue with 99.8% of the oil removed from the ball.
Dishwashers??? Uh,no.:( How do you tell if all the oil is gone? With a bucket,it may take longer,but you KNOW.
Lights??? New one to me.:confused: Just worried about over heating the ball.
After bath care: I use whatever PowerHouse cleaner is right for that ball. If you need polish,hit it. Clean N Dull? You bet. All depends on which ball it is.
Yeah,you have to roll a few games to get a small amount of oil back into the ball. Clean as normal and roll high scores.

[Rowdy]

Scraps next time you use the dishwasher and Dawn,one word comes to mind: YouTube. Film! We want film of THAT!